Instrument Scientist for DREAM

European Spallation Source (ESS) invites applications for an instrument scientist for the DREAM powder diffractometer.

Description Main Responsibilities

The current position is for the lead instrument scientist for DREAM, a flexible general-purpose powder diffractometer, designed for structural investigations of new materials. The immediate mission is to act as the project lead to design, procure, install and commission the DREAM diffractometer. The instrument scientist will work closely with the lead engineer, forming the core instrument team. It is expected that the instrument project will run until 2022, followed by commissioning and operations, at which stage the mission will be to operate the instrument within the ESS user programme.

DREAM is being built as an in-kind contribution from the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) in Germany and the Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB) in France. The successful candidate will be based in Lund, and frequent travel between ESS, FZJ and LLB will be required throughout the instrument construction project.

The successful candidate must be active in a scientific field of direct relevance to DREAM, such as functional or energy materials. He/she will be given the opportunity to develop their own research projects, preferably at operating neutron research centres. Synergies with the neighbouring MAX-IV synchrotron as well as strong links with universities will be encouraged. ESS will support and encourage the candidate to take up an adjunct position at a university in an ESS partner country, in order to facilitate their own research.

Qualifications

Essential qualifications and experience:


• PhD in experimental studies in the physical sciences relevant to the DREAM scientific programme, preferably in functional, nanoscaled or energy materials.
• Extensive practical experience in neutron powder diffraction, as well as in the use of relevant laboratory-based characterization methods.
• Expert knowledge of the data analysis software for diffraction (e.g. GSAS, TOPAS, FullProf, Jana, PDFgui)
• Experience of neutron instrumentation development
• Evidence of a strong independent research profile in relevant science areas
• Ability to work collaboratively and individually
• Ability to lead a diverse group of scientists and engineers during instrument development and construction
• Good interpersonal communication and presentation skills, and ability to interact effectively with staff and users at all levels.
• Flexibility to occasional requests to work out-of-hours to support users
• Responsible attitude to personal safety, and the safety of others
• Willingness to international travel, distributing their time between ESS, FZJ and LLB as required by the project
• Excellent oral and written English

Desirable experience:


• Experience with user operation at a large-scale neutron facility
• Experience in commissioning a neutron instrument into user operation
• Experience with time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction
• Experience with pair-distribution function (PDF) measurements Experience with other diffraction techniques, relevant to her/his research, e.g. on lab-based or synchrotron x-ray sources
• Proven record of combining synchrotron x-ray and neutron diffraction methods
• Practical knowledge of other neutron techniques relevant to materials research (e.g. single-crystal diffraction, SANS, reflectometry and inelastic scattering)
• Practical experience of software development for instrument control as well as reduction and analysis of neutron powder diffraction data
• Experience in combining and analyzing PDF, diffraction and SANS/SAXS data; analysis and reduction of polarized neutron scattering data, as well as magnetic structure refinements
• Practical experience of developing and operating complex sample environment relating to neutron powder diffraction
• Experience of leading a neutron instrument project
• Experience of supervising graduate and undergraduate students, as well as teaching a graduate-level course
• Experience in obtaining third-party funding for instrument development
• Existing international collaborations, especially within Sweden and other Scandinavian countries
• Experience of Monte-Carlo simulation of neutron instruments
• Experience of working in an international environment

Duration & Location

The position is permanent with a six-month initial probationary period. Your work place will be situated in Lund, Sweden. Significant amounts of travel will be needed during the construction project. The preferred start date is July 2020.

Application & Contact

Please provide your curriculum vitae and cover letter in English by going to the ESS recruitment web page https://europeanspallationsource.se/careers/vacancies then clicking on “apply” and following the instructions. Please note we only accept applications via the ESS website or ESS intranet. Internal candidates are encouraged to apply through the intranet.

The deadline for applications is May 17, 2021.

For more information regarding the ESS recruitment process in general, please follow this link

https://europeanspallationsource.se/ess-recruitment-process

 

For trade union information please contact Unionen / Mikael Johansson at +46 46 888 32 51 or SACO / Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers/ Riccardo Bevilacqua at +46 46 888 32 28.

We look forward to receiving your application!